President-elect Barack Obama has been compared to Abraham Lincoln for his politics and to John F. Kennedy for his youth, but Friday he showed himself similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt in terms of his communication skills.
Obama will address the nation weekly in a YouTube video on his YouTube channel “ChangeDotGov.” The first “episode” aired Nov. 15 and lasted about 3 1/2 minutes. Obama spoke about the economy and the importance of national unity in the days ahead.
“Make no mistake,” Obama said in the YouTube address. “This is the greatest economic challenge of our time. And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis.”
The weekly videos closely resemble Roosevelt’s famous “Fireside Chats,” which he delivered periodically over the radio between 1933 and 1944. The chats provided a reassuring political presence to the public during the years of the Great Depression and World War II.
There are differences between the two presidents’ message delivery, however.
Roosevelt appeared to Americans as a disembodied voice in their living rooms. In contrast, Obama sits behind a large wooden desk, to the right of an American flag. He’s slightly off-center from the camera, and his eyes move a bit as he reads his lines. His hair shows more gray than it did a year ago. The American public will not only be able to watch him speak, but put on weight, lose it and age as the stress of the presidency accumulates.
TECHIE PRESIDENTS THROUGHOUT HISTORYAbraham Lincoln: Used the telegraph prolifically during the Civil War. Some credit the North’s win to his savvy use of the latest communications technology. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Not only did he use the radio for “Fireside Chats,” Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television. Calvin Coolidge: First president to install a radio in the White House. He also used it during his campaign. The night before the election, he gave a speech via radio that drew the largest radio audience in history. Benjamin Harrison: Installed electricity in the White House. Rutherford B. Hayes: Installed the first telephone in the White House. It was in a booth outside his office and it only called the Department of Treasury. John F. Kennedy: Appeared in the first televised presidential debate. His win is often partially attributed to his calm, collected presence compared to opponent Richard Nixon’s unattractive, nervous demeanor. |
Roosevelt’s language in his chats was less formal than Obama’s Friday conversation, but it’s likely Obama hasn’t yet broken the habit of stilted campaign speech.
The YouTube addresses are the latest in a list of nouveau technology Obama has harnessed to reach voters. During his campaign he maintained a Web site and YouTube channel, and since the election he has started new ones of each.
Obama maintains accounts on Facebook and MySpace. Both contain standard information, e.g. “Married to Michelle Obama, interests include basketball and favorite music is Stevie Wonder,” videos, press releases and campaign-approved photos. His MySpace mood on Tuesday: hopeful, with a large, smiling emoticon.
The Facebook page has 3,167,982 supporters and the MySpace page has 965,918. They leave comments of support and congratulations, as well as suggestions. Instead of writing to their congressmen, these people write on the President-elect’s wall.
University junior Matt Pfliiger said he thought these social networking sites helped Obama reach younger voters during the election. “People are on there more than TV,” he said.
Obama also makes use of iTunes, providing a free podcast. He appears on Web sites such as Linkedin and Digg.
On Flickr, a Web site meant for posting photos, the other side of Obama’s web presence appears. When Obama’s name is searched, thousands of photos appear. However, most were not posted by his campaign.
There are pictures of people shaking Obama’s hand, of him giving speeches from afar and of dogs wearing his campaign T-shirts.
On most sites, Obama and his public relations staff control his image seen by the world. They can post pictures of him in a suit, with his kids or giving a speech. They can publish blogs that make him sound informal and witty. But on public forum sites like Flickr, there is no telling what version of the president-elect may appear.
Obama’s technology usage isn’t just a campaign stunt, it’s a way of life. According to campaign advisors, he’s addicted to his Blackberry. The New York Times reported Saturday that he may have to give it up when he becomes president, however, because the Presidential Records Act makes any document he produces a public record, so a Blackberry could present a security liability. Obama also intends to have a laptop computer on his desk in the Oval Office. If he does, he’ll be the first American president to do so.
University public relations assistant professor Tiffany Gallicano thinks Obama uses social technology effectively. “He was not limited by only communicating with people indirectly through news coverage,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Rather than being confined to a seven-second sound byte, social media gave him a platform to communicate with voters directly and for an unlimited length of time.”
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